Farmers Weekly Charlie Flindt the National Trust and End of an Era

[Jackov Altraids]

Thankyou for being so prompt with the research.

NT administration could be aligning with the public mood for the sake of donations, making the landscape more beautiful (in the potential donors' eyes).

If so they will change like smoke in the wind that they follow.

I really shouldn't care so much but I really hate seeing poor decision making happening anywhere, let alone on policies that will make many future generations suffer.
I fear the whole future of global agriculture lies in the hands of the chattering classes, an echo chamber of false information of vested interests and the good intentions of the under-informed.
Any sense of balance has disappeared.
There should have been room for more balance on the Flindts farm. 1800 tons of produce to nearly zero isn't balanced. The future has to be sustainable and the NT have no concept of what that is.

 

[010101]

sense of balance

Might be worth talking about the UK balance sheet a bit here.

Total value
Residential Property $10trn
Fixed Income $ 7trn
Equity $ 4trn
Farmland ?

 

[Lowland1]

Everyone born into farming should be sent away for 10yrs as an adult before choosing agriculture or there is a danger of being introverted??

They should always work off farm for a while for sure. I actually think a qualification in something other than agriculture is a good thing in that you meet people from other backgrounds. However if you want to farm then farm. The problem comes when as a youngster you luck into an established well set up business and as time goes on things get harder and you haven't had to struggle so you aren't prepared or maybe just don't want to work harder or take less money. I think that's what we are seeing a lot of. To be honest it's a personal choice. For me I see people like Mr Flindt giving up and I think why would you do that? Especially with all he's written over the year's but ..

 

[ajcc]

Burning question is if @Charlie Flindt had turned down the NT deal on principle how would this upstanding respectable charity have reacted?
We respect your decision Charlie and will revise our vision of Hinton Ampner estate accordingly?
Could they be successful with a Case B notice?

 

[010101]

Burning question is if @Charlie Flindt had turned down the NT deal on principle how would this upstanding respectable charity have reacted?
We respect your decision Charlie and will revise our vision of Hinton Ampner estate accordingly?
Could they be successful with a Case B notice?

They would have to get planning permission for a change of use.

 

[texelburger]

Good luck @Charlie Flindt and I wish you well in the future.I'm sure you have made the best decision for the family.I do hope you are able to continue your articles in the FW,they do brighten up my Fridays.
Must dash as I have to prepare my body for a session at the Rugby Club this afternoon

 

[Minesapint]

Plenty of free time……could always get a job as an RT inspector
I wish you all the best, and can understand the tie if you were born there.

 

[SilliamWhale]

The nation is sticking its fuel bills on its collective credit card. Anyone who ends up borrowing money to pay the day to day expenses because they can't (or won't) earn enough to live on by their own efforts is in the fast lane to bankruptcy and poverty......such behaviour never ends well.

Governments are different to business and people

 

[DrWazzock]

Governments are different to business and people

I don’t think they are fundamentally different. Look at what happened in Zimbabwe and Argentina. It’s easy to end up with a worthless currency and hyper inflation. It’s not bankruptcy as in running out of money, it’s just that the money becomes worthless, public services can’t be financed, public servants can’t be paid, public pensions can’t be honoured. It’s happened in many countries. It’s happening here but more slowly. We are in denial.
But one ordinary citizen or business can’t really buck the national trend. It’s all very well saying that in the interests of national food security Charlie or anybody else should soldier on, but when you are paddling against an anti farming current, of ridiculously high input prices, overbearing regulation and mediocre returns for the risk involved then you’ll end up a martyr with a cleaned out bank account, brought to a halt by hitting your credit limit, or at best working for nothing. Nobody thanks you for this. So you have to act in your own financial interest. Many who survived the 1930’s depression in this county told me they drilled nothing at all for several years. To drill a crop just lost money.

 

[DrWazzock]

I won’t be growing beet next year. Folks think I’m mad as it’s going from £27 to £40 per tonne.
So the price is increasing by a factor of 1.5.
Fertiliser has increased by a factor of 3.
Diesel has doubled in price.
Spare parts have increased in price by at least 1.5.
What is it with fsrmers that they can’t see a bit of a problem with an output price increase of 1.5 while input prices double as an average?

 

[DrWazzock]

Wheat needs to be £300 a tonne and OSR needs to be £600 otherwise I’ll be better off going to work for somebody on min wage mon to Friday 8 hours a day, no risk, no outlay. In fact doing that would doulble my income. But we are small at 200 acres. I accept that.

 

[010101]

What is it with fsrmers that they can’t see a bit of a problem with an output price increase of 1.5 while input prices double as an average?

Hope has two beautiful daughters. Their names are anger and courage. Anger at the way things are, and courage to see that they do not remain the same as they are.

St Augustine

 

[Charlie Flindt]

I have always hated the man.. but money talks and clearly his 3 children see working for or with him as a life not worth living... very sad but intelligent man

Ouch.

 

[Charlie Flindt]

Thanks, everyone, for your kind comments. (Not Huno, 'cos for some reason he hates me. Not sure what I did, but there we go. Sniff)

 

[SilliamWhale]

I don’t think they are fundamentally different. Look at what happened in Zimbabwe and Argentina. It’s easy to end up with a worthless currency and hyper inflation. It’s not bankruptcy as in running out of money, it’s just that the money becomes worthless, public services can’t be financed, public servants can’t be paid, public pensions can’t be honoured. It’s happened in many countries. It’s happening here but more slowly. We are in denial.
But one ordinary citizen or business can’t really buck the national trend. It’s all very well saying that in the interests of national food security Charlie or anybody else should soldier on, but when you are paddling against an anti farming current, of ridiculously high input prices, overbearing regulation and mediocre returns for the risk involved then you’ll end up a martyr with a cleaned out bank account, brought to a halt by hitting your credit limit, or at best working for nothing. Nobody thanks you for this. So you have to act in your own financial interest. Many who survived the 1930’s depression in this county told me they drilled nothing at all for several years. To drill a crop just lost money.

Whilst outrageous money printing is obviously negative, I do think they are fundamentally very different nontheless

 

[Enry]

Its British disease. We cant stand the idea of anyone being successful. The NT business model of "get free stuff given to us, then gain maximum money from it" cant really be argued with.

Tree planting is a bit different as once you plant trees here......youre stuck with them forever.

unless you're Brazilian.....

 

[Enry]

I'm too tight to get the farmers weekly but Flindt on Friday is definitely the best bit, so plus one for please keep writing.

I'm sure his dilemna is being pondered over by much of the industry, we are in such an awful state. For once being a tenant has its advantages. You can just give it back, whereas the poor owner occupier has the bridge burning decision to stay or go and what to do with the proceeds if you sell.

Are we really in a state of food insecurity? If we were farmers would not be leaving the industry. I'm for producing and wasting less and allowing a little more room for nature.

Are you fore real....a retiring tenant has no advantage over an occupier...with land making £12-24k an acre, pay the tax and even with a couple of hundred acres under your belt you retire as a millionaire! An elderly and privileged relative once said to me that she envied people with no money because they didnt have to worry about how to invest it avoid tax.... I made my position clear!

 

[Enry]

So @Charlie Flindt has accepted the green shilling....that green shilling has come through the NT charity donations backed by css and ELMs assurances. Swathed in opaqueness so neither the taxpayer or charity donor can discern any slight of hand.
The state and the National Trust acting in unison. Got to be right?

he has a tenancy, he could have hung on, they wanted it back, he decided to negotiate - similar happened to a friend of mind with a private landlord - both parties got what they wanted and parted amicably with a handshake. The end.

 

[Enry]

Thanks, everyone, for your kind comments. (Not Huno, 'cos for some reason he hates me. Not sure what I did, but there we go. Sniff)

Wishing you a long and happy "retirement" Looks like I'll have to buy your books!

 

[Huno]

I won’t be growing beet next year. Folks think I’m mad as it’s going from £27 to £40 per tonne.
So the price is increasing by a factor of 1.5.
Fertiliser has increased by a factor of 3.
Diesel has doubled in price.
Spare parts have increased in price by at least 1.5.
What is it with fsrmers that they can’t see a bit of a problem with an output price increase of 1.5 while input prices double as an average?

And most importantly you can buy cane sugar from abroad in 1 tonne bags for about the same price as a tonne of fertilizer